Standing on the Rooftops
by Straya
Summary: TF Animated - Post Along Came a Spider. A good second in command takes the reigns in the absence of his leader. A great one helps keep his leader in place.


_Disclaimer: TF Animated and all related material belong to Hasbro/Cartoon Network/etc, concept originally created and licensed through Takara Co. LTD._

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Author's Note: This one-shot is meant to follow a short fic entitled "Sugar Rush", which can be found in my account here on FFN. Both stories were written shortly after "Along Came a Spider" aired and take place immediately after. The title of the fic was taken from a Lostprophets song of the same title. The lyrics obviously cannot be posted here at this site given the rules and are not a perfect fit for the fic, but I liked it well enough to tack the title onto it. Enjoy.

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**"Standing on the Rooftops"**

Optimus Prime was on the roof. Ratchet grumbled to himself as he made his way around the back of the building to where a pile of metal crates sat that would allow him to reach the base roof. Prowl was the only one with the jump jets necessary to make the leap from the ground up and the stairwell that led up from the inside was so narrow that only humans could get up through it.

Tinted a light blue with a dash of yellow orange, the horizon behind Detroit's sea of buildings was visible as the medibot pulled himself up onto roof edge. It was just minutes from sunrise. Prime stood near the ledge that faced the street, apparently staring out at the scenery. Bulkhead had been rather vague when he informed Ratchet that their crew leader wanted to speak with him. Still feeling a bit fuzzy after a full night out, the medic hoped this wouldn't take long. He and Prowl had told Prime they were going on patrol for the night around the city limits, which was more or less the truth. They hadn't wanted to deal with neighborhood streets overrun with human children on a Halloween sugar rush. But the old mech had taken a couple of flasks of fine high grade with them, left over from his stash aboard the shuttle and "patrol" had turned into "bonding time" over potent fuel. Unfortunately, it also turned out that Prowl was a lightweight and ended up buzzed long before Ratchet. Oh, he'd be furious with the medic once he got over the hang over, but for now he was simply trying to shake it off with some much needed recharge in his quarters.

"Any trouble during your patrol?"

Ratchet frowned as he walked up alongside Prime, considering his crew leader's question before answering. Oh, there'd been some trouble. A few speeders, a billboard sign vandal...and Prowl almost failing to make the conversion to vehicle mode for the trip back due to how tanked he ended up, but that last part did not need to be known. "Caught up with a couple of kids joyriding and pulled a vandal down off a billboard. Nothing much. I noticed a number of crushed orange crud in the streets and a lot of white paper in the trees on the way here. Trouble on this end?"

"Sari says the smashing of pumpkins on Halloween night is common, though considered vandalism. And apparently the same is true of humans 'TPing' one anothers' homes and the plant life outside."

"...have you even been to recharge, yet?"

"Have you?"

Ratchet smirked briefly. "Point. What the slag are you doing up here, anyway? I pulled in a few nanokliks ago and Bulkhead said you were up here wanting to talk to me."

Optimus hesitated before answering. "Ratchet, I know you didn't attend the Academy, but I'm sure you had to have gone somewhere for your training?"

"Protihex Medical Mechanics University. Why?"

"They must have instructed you there about the various laws regarding off planet activities? I mean, becoming a field tech meant you might have to serve on scout or even command ships during the war, right? You'd have to know what you could and couldn't do if you had to make planet fall on some alien world."

The medibot narrowed one optic, waiting for the other energon chip to drop. "What are you getting at, exactly?"

"You know the laws about organic planets, don't you?" Optimus Prime glanced at his companion, the concern evident in both his tone and expression.

"So that's what this is about..." Ratchet sighed and sat down wearily. "You realize we didn't have much choice when that space bridge dumped us out in this solar system and Megatron's interference forced us to crash land here? The thought has crossed my processors more than once that we're breaking the law, Prime, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. Our shuttle is nowhere near flight worthy at the moment. Even if Sari's key aided with repairs, who knows what will happen if we drag the All Spark out of hiding?"

"Unfortunately, Autobot High Command isn't very lenient about these kinds of things. We keep hoping for rescue, that maybe the Elite Guard will eventually find us after I alerted Ultra Magnus to our situation half an Earth century ago, but now I'm starting to worry about what will happen if or when they do," Optimus responded, sitting down as well. "This...isn't the first time I've gotten others in trouble. I don't want you or any of the others to suffer consequences under my leadership."

Ratchet was silent a long moment, studying the younger mech intently before speaking again. "This has something to do with Sentinel Prime, doesn't it?"

Prime's optics widened. "How did you know that? I never--"

"He doesn't like you," the medic interrupted with a frown. "You had to show him the All Spark before he would let you speak with Ultra Magnus. And he insulted you in front of your crew, which in my book shows a serious lack of personal discipline. Granted, I don't know what the situation specifics are between the two of you, but it seems to me that it has something to do with rule breaking or failure to lead others. Sentinel did a lousy job at hiding his surprise that you commanded any kind of crew at all."

Optimus turned his gaze back towards the horizon again, shoulders slumping forward somewhat as he sighed heavily. "...you're an observant mech, Ratchet."

"Prime..."

"What?"

Already regretting his open analysis of the other mech's past, Ratchet offered a sympathetic look as Optimus glanced his way again. "Look, Prime... We all make mistakes, and if you think that your leadership has already landed us in trouble, do yourself a favor and re-evaluate. The All Spark and Megatron landed us where we are and, in the meantime, your efforts have kept the All Spark from falling into the wrong hands. You _died_ for the sake of that thing. I took your vitals, I know the truth of it. Since then, you've done everything possible to hold this mess of a team together. Look at what you've had to work with! You're the only Academy 'Bot here, and you're stuck with two young demolition mechs, one of who's a speed freak and the other who's got all the grace of our crippled shuttle, a loner hand-to-hand combat expert who spends his off time hanging upside down in trees, and a washed up, has-been field tech with a bad temper. So you mucked up something and Autobot High Command decided to demote you to a 'third rate rock buster.' So what? Take it from someone who used to get orders directly from Ultra Magnus... It's not all it's cracked up to be."

"You didn't fail to bring Arcee back. And you're _not_ a has-been."

Ratchet bristled automatically at the mention of Arcee's name despite the compliment attached, but forced himself to hold in the growl of irritation that threatened to roll out of his vocalizer. He told Optimus about Arcee and Lockdown after the bounty hunter invaded their territory and tried to claim Prime as his next victim. While Ratchet was still coping with the guilt even after getting it all off his chest, he still didn't like to discuss it if it wasn't wholly necessary. "No, not physically. But we lost the access codes. And she lost herself. You know that."

"Sentinel Prime's issues with me... They have to do with a femme named Elita-1 who I failed to bring back with us." The crew leader's gaze dropped to the rooftop by his feet. "I brought up the law that forbids Autobots to be on organic planets because that's where we were when it happened. The three of us were overwhelmed by giant spider-like creatures and with the way things turned out, I...made the decision to save myself and Sentinel Prime while I could when the underground caverns we were in exploded due to detonating energon. At the time, we couldn't pick up her energy signature, so we never went back for her. Sentinel was furious with me."

Ratchet's frown deepened. "I probably would have gone straight in after her, but that's why I'm a field tech and not a group leader. Anyone in charge of any team has to make split second decisions in bad situations and try to decide what's best for the group as a whole. I take it you made the choice to help Sentinel because his chances for survival were higher, and because you thought that if the two of you didn't evacuate immediately, you'd all be caught in the explosion?"

"At the time, yes. But we still should have gone back. She wasn't offlined."

"How do you know that?"

Prime bowed his head slightly, optics shuttering. "She's here in Detroit somewhere, using the name Blackarachnia. I don't know how she got here or how she found us, but she's with the Decepticons, now. Her old special ability was to download the abilities of others and adapt her body to use them, but when she tried to use that on the organic spiders, they infected her shell and internals with organic material. I couldn't see her energy signature then because of that...and we left her behind."

For several seconds, Ratchet sat with his mouth partly open in surprise, optic ridges arching in a mix of shock and sympathy. When he said nothing, Prime went on.

"I tried to help her when I realized who she used to be, but she wouldn't let me. She won't trust me. I'm not even sure what she would have done if Sentinel and I had found her after the organic material infected her shell. She thinks she could have ended up nothing more than a scientific investigation project on Cybertron."

Turning his own gaze out to the city, Ratchet leaned forward with his elbows perched on his knees, a sick feeling starting to well up in his spark casing. So this was the root of it, was it? "Prime, you're too young to have this much weight on your shoulders, but the fact is that it's there and it's not going to go away anytime soon. Some of the burden you bear is your fault, some of it isn't, and that's just how things always end up. You're a very idealistic leader at spark and I hate to see that change in some ways, but it will the more you're forced to deal with. Just don't think you're a poor leader because you made some mistakes in your past. I have a feeling the greater tests are yet to come. As for Blackarachnia, you can only meet her halfway and if she's not willing to close the gap there isn't much you can do. That she's joined the enemy is going to make things harder, but all you can do is uphold the Autobot creed...and I don't mean the harsher, rule bound one High Command likes to enforce. I mean the simpler one that has us protecting all life, whether it's organic or Cybertronian. Remember, great leaders lead by example, not by barking orders they wouldn't follow, themselves. Let that be your foundation of trust."

Prime finally allowed a small smile to grace his faceplate as he glanced at the medibot. "You must have been something during the war, Ratchet. Why you didn't end up as part of High Command, yourself, I'll never know."

Ratchet grunted in disgust. "I never even let anyone call me 'sir.' I worked for a living and I liked it fine. Desk jobs are for data pad pushing pansy idiots."

"That how you ended up with us?"

"That and, well, you know some of what I've been through. Cybertron on the whole has some bad memories for me. I thought maybe if I got away for a while it would be for the best."

"So...is it?"

"No." Ratchet eyed the slightly confused look on the other's faceplate before smirking. "...but the present company is preferable. Just don't tell anyone else that."

Managing a small chuckle as he regained his feet, Prime moved to Ratchet's side and offered him a hand up. "I won't. You seem to have a reputation you like maintained." He then frowned, considering something else. "But you are sure you're still ready to follow my orders, knowing what you do? With Blackarachnia here, she might try to get to the All Spark, and there's no telling if more Decepticons will follow."

Taking Prime's hand, the medic hauled himself to his own feet, joints creaking a little. "I figure it's what we can expect, which is why I mentioned the greater tests are probably still to come. Decepticons are like Earth cockroaches - where there's one, there's likely to be a whole mess of them ready to come out of the works. But...here we are, the All Spark behind us, humanity all around us, Decepticons on our doorstep and the possible threat of a bunch of rule pushing Elite Guard warriors looming on the horizon. When you get as old as I am, you realize life is never boring for long. Doesn't mean I have to like it, but it does mean I'll deal with it as it comes at me and I sure as slag will decide where I stand for myself."

Smiling fondly at the old 'Bot, Prime nodded solemnly. "Glad to have you here then, Ratchet. At this point, I don't think I could ask for a better second."

"Eh, don't get all mushy on me, Prime. It's too early in the morning for this," Ratchet replied with an amused smirk. "So what say we get down off this roof and head to our respective quarters for some recharge?"

"Sounds like a plan. I just hope I can shut down, even after this."

"Here, take a pull." Ratchet retrieved a flask out of one of his onboard compartments and offered it up.

Taking the container in hand, Optimus examined it a moment. "What's in it?"

"Some of the good stuff."

"Good stuff, huh?" He uncapped the flask. "Where's Prowl, by the way? He's usually up here about this time to watch the sun rise."

Ratchet grimaced. "...hung over."

Prime stopped short of drinking from the flask, suddenly wary of the contents. "Ratchet, you didn't..."

"Not my fault he's a lightweight!"

"But while on patrol?"

Ratchet glared up at him. "Are you gonna drink that or not?"

Sighing, Prime shook his head a little and then took a long pull...nearly coughing it all back up again as the energon burned its way down his intake tubes. He hastily handed the flask back. "By the All Spark, Ratchet! You're sure that was energon and not armor polish?"

Taking a drink himself, Ratchet capped the flask and put it away. "Yes, just the strong stuff. Now let's get down off this roof before we both pass out up here. You can thank me for the good, hard sleep later."

"Just promise me you won't share that stuff with anyone else, especially not while on patrol."

"It was a holiday. And a long night."

"No argument on either point, I admit."

While he waited for Ratchet to climb down off the roof ahead of him, Prime glanced back at the cityscape, watching as the first rays of morning light lit the sides of the nearby towers. There was still so much that could happen, both right and wrong, but if any time was a good time to decide where he stood, this was it. In a way, it was as if everything were coming full circle from that solar cycle he, Sentinel Prime and Elita-1 had all made dire mistakes. Well, no time like the present to start making amends, even though it seemed like he would be doing so with himself long before he could manage to regain the trust of Sentinel and the former Elita.

"Prime! Are you comin' down or not? I'll rust out down here before you decide to move!"

"On my way!"

Vaulting over the roof ledge and nearly missing the first crate, Prime grimaced a bit as he regained his balance. Down below, Ratchet shook his head and smirked up at the younger mech. Someday, the medic was convinced, Optimus Prime would a stable, confident leader who embodied the down-to-planet virtues of the true Autobot way. While Ratchet himself may have allowed world weary cynicism to dampen his personal views on heroism, that didn't mean someone like Prime needed to give up making some sort of difference.


End file.
